Return to Malice
"Return to Malice" is the 43rd episode of The Venture Bros.. Plot The episode begins in The Monarch's cocoon, where two Monarch Henchmen (86 and 87) are discussing the relative fighting prowess of lake monsters The Loch Ness Monster and Champ. This draws the ire of Henchman 21, who has apparently morphed from the bumbling awkward nerd to an imposing, intimidating loner who garners respect and fear from his fellow henchmen. He makes his way to their table and says, simply, Ogopogo. When Henchman 86 protests, Henchman 21 demotes him to Henchman 87 and orders him to report for field duty. At The Monarch's residence at Malice (a gated community for supervillains), we find that 21 has also improved in efficiency, with The Monarch bragging over dinner about his portly minion's latest services. However, an allergic reaction to a salad of rocket and sunchoke makes The Monarch's face swell grotesquely, which distresses him because he is scheduled for a high-profile interview in a supervillian magazine. Meanwhile, we find that #21 has developed an unhealthy obsession with his deceased friend, 24, and is talking to his charred skull in his quarters. 21 reveals that he is on a mission to find and slay the person(s) responsible for 24's death. 21 begins by kidnapping Hank and Dean Venture (without permission from The Monarch) and interrogating them with Chinese water torture. The boys are not at all bothered by the "torture", but freely inform 21 that they don't know anything about 24's death. Upon hearing this, 21 realizes that he himself is the person most responsible and so he lets the Ventures go. Meanwhile, at the Venture compound Doc Venture and Sergeant Hatred deduce (wrongly) that The Monarch was behind the kidnapping, and take Hatred's Jeep to The Monarch's mansion. There, they contact Dr. Girlfriend, who agrees to meet them to discuss the situation. The Sergeant drops by his old mansion (where Princess Tinyfeet still resides) to gather supplies for the mission, only to peer in and find her having group sex with some of his former soldiers. Shattered and losing all interest in the mission, Hatred curls to the ground and weeps in despair as Thaddeus meets Dr. Girlfriend at the rendezvous point. Dr. Girlfriend and Dr. Venture chat amiably for a while after determining The Monarch had nothing to do with the kidnapping. When Dr. Girlfriend suggests Dr. Venture try calling the boys on the two-way wrist-radio, he finds they are already safely back at the compound. The Monarch deduces what 21 has done and confronts him for breaking the chain of command. However, he forgoes vengeance on his minion when he is moved by #21's declaration of allegiance. In the post credits sequence, an unknown person checks off "The Ventures" on 21's list of possible murderers, yet when 21 enters his room we see that no one is there and 24's skull has been moved to the other side of the room. Connections to other episodes * The three most well-known of the "lake monsters" The Loch Ness Monster, Champ, and Ogopogo are analyzed for which would win in a fight. (This is also an oblique reference to an argument that Henchman 21 and Henchman 24 had in the first season episode "Tag Sale — You're It!" over "who would win in a crazy fantasy fistfight between Anne Frank and Lizzie Borden and their argument over whether Smurfs are mammals or not in "Are You There God? It's Me, Dean".) *The Monarch's mansion is shown again, first seen in "Home Is Where the Hate Is".http://theflickcast.com/2009/11/05/new-clip-from-this-weeks-venture-bros-return-to-malice/ *Dr. Girlfriend mentions The Monarch's cat, Mr Mostly-Mittens, whom Henchman 21 had sat on and killed at some point prior to "I Know Why The Caged Bird Kills". *Henchman 24, whose death sparked 21's vendetta against the Venture brothers, was blown up in the Monarchmobile in "The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together (Part II)" *Number 21's LARP group, aka "the Orchard Street Wolfpack" appears in a flashback. They first appeared in "Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel" helping #21 return the X-1. *The Venture Brothers reference the destruction of their clones in the season three finale. Cultural references *The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend reference the popular children's poem This Little Piggy as they start to become amorous in bed. *The Monarch states that their dinner of confit of duck with balsamic vinegar on a bed of rocket and sunchoke was Henchman 21's idea, indicating that Henchman 21 has become a foodie. *The Monarch, after finding his massive facial deformity, refers to himself as John Merrick, the frequent-used misnomer of Joseph Merrick, also known as "The Elephant Man". *Hank and Dean are seen for the first time since their apprehension by Henchman 21 being subjected to Chinese water torture. *21 asks the Venture Brothers -- after 30 minutes of water "torture" -- if they have snapped mentally and see him as Wolverine (the Marvel character) with bat wings (this most likely is a reference to the henchmen color scheme and design resembling Wolverine's costume). He also wonders if they are seeing him with like the bottom half of a horse and the top half of a sin-eater. *In the flashback to 21 training with his LARP team, his opponent repeatedly yells "lightning bolt" while throwing objects at him. This is a reference to a popular Youtube video seen here. References Category:The Venture Bros. episodes